Wildcat Equestrian Area
1Heads up1 fire 46 mi away
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 15:39 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there
In the agency’s own words
Wildcat Equestrian Area at Buchanan Dam, H.V. Eastman Lake is a perfect launchpad for activities like horseback riding, birding and hiking. Tucked in the Sierra Nevada foothills, the area attracts abundant wildlife like bobcats, bald eagles, golden eagles, and hawks. Wildcat Equestrian Area is a equestrian group area with water, vault toilets, horse corrals and hitching posts. Keep reading
Recreation
Wildcat Equestrian Area at Buchanan Dam, H.V. Eastman Lake is a perfect launchpad for activities like horseback riding, birding and hiking.
Facilities
Wildcat Equestrian Area facility offeres areas for camping, horse hitching posts and corrals, water, bbq, fire pits, picnic tables, vault toilets, and access to showers.
Natural Features
The rolling hills around Buchanan Dam, H.V. Eastman Lake are surrounded by tall grasses and scattered oak trees, giving way to stunning mountain views. The lake features 1,780 surface acres, fed by the cool waters of the Chowchilla River. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (559) 689-3255.
Nearby Attractions
The Sierra National Forest is a short drive to the east of the campground.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group, 1 equestrian
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Biking
- Birding
- Hiking
- Horse Camping
- Horseback riding
- Wildlife viewing
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 15:39 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 15:39 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| EQUE | Wildcat Campground | group equestrian | 616 ft | 2,802 ft | $60 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Wildcat Recreation Area Campground0.2 mi
Codorniz Recreation Area Campground0.6 miCodorniz Campground0.6 mi
Hidden View6.8 miWakalumi Campground7.5 miEastman Lake is 30 miles northeast of Madera, 25 miles east of Chowchilla,
and 50 miles north of Fresno. From Highway 99, travel east on Avenue
26 then north on Rd 29. Follow signs into the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Yosemite Lakes, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 50°F, day 80°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 38°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Wildcat Equestrian Area is in California’s 5th congressional district. Its representative, Tom McClintock (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →